Blind
by The Twitcherz
Summary: [[slight spoilers for The Sight]] He couldn't see. But whenever Jaypaw looked at her, she knew he was staring into the depths of her soul. [jay x hazel] oneshot.


**

* * *

**

**Blind  
**Oneshot  
Jaypaw x Hazelpaw  
Spoilers for **The Sight**

_

* * *

_

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky brilliant shades of orange, pink, and blue, two ravens shot off into the hazy skies, their ebony wings working furiously to propel their bodies away from a predator's sharp claws. The thorn-sharp claws snagged a black feather, but to the hunter's disappointment, her catch had escaped her grasp. Again.

The hunter was a small white she-cat with gray splotches of every shade splattered evenly across her slender body. Her fur was fluffy and soft, like a flledging's downy feathers, so it was hard to tell that she had left the nursery quite some time ago. Frustration flared in her deep viridian eyes, and she let a patient sigh escape her nostrils. Hazelpaw licked an ivory front paw and drew it over her ear in embarrassment. She had been in training for four moons already, and she would soon be a ThunderClan warrior. And what did she have to show for her hunt? A black feather. That was sure to feed a lot hungry cats in this harsh leaf-bare. Hazelpaw sent a silent prayer of thanks to StarClan that her mentor, Dustpelt, had not seen how unsuccessful she had been. Her gray-and-white tail lashed angrily; if she did not catch some prey quickly, ThunderClan would again murmur about how kittypets did not belong, that they could never feel the same way as warriors do. She felt her blood boil at the very thought of it. How could her Clan still think she was soft? She didn't even remember being a kittypet. Clan life was all that she knew. And still, she knew that many cats of her own Clan did not wish her and her brothers, Mousepaw and Berrypaw, to be a part of ThunderClan.

"That's not how you catch a raven," Hazelpaw bristled defensively and turned to see who had made the smug remark. A very small gray tomcat stared at her with contempt in his unblinking blue eyes. Unblinking, she realized, because he could not see. Hazelpaw relaxed her muscles, which were itching for a fight, but she unsheathed her claws in anger and let them sink into the cold leaf-bare ground. It was Jaypaw, a newly-apprentice smoky gray tomcat, famous for his sharp tongue and desire to boss every cat in the forest around. Somehow, the gray apprentice always seemed to be in trouble, yet he still held himself with a certain quiet dignity that was difficult not to admire.

"How would you know?" She retorted cooly, her tail-tip twitching irritably. Somehow, Jaypaw only had to open his mouth to make her feel as if her pelt was being shredded by enemy claws. She gave her shoulder fur a few quick licks to relax her bristled white and gray fur.

"First off, your pawsteps were noisier than a pair of Twoleg kits crashing through the forest!" The light gray apprentice mewed, a hint of exasperation in his voice. Jaypaw dropped low to the ground, demonstrating his best hunting crouch. "You have to shift your weight onto your haunches and crouch low, like this. Then, when you're close enough to the bird, you sprint forwards with your weight on your haunches still. Then, you spring at the bird."

Hazelpaw felt even more annoyed when she realized that he was right. The gray-and-white apprentice didn't know how to admit that she was wrong without looking like a mousebrain in front of Jaypaw, so she scuffled the dirt with a front claw absent-mindedly, the tension in the air crackling between them like clouds about to give way to a storm. She gazed into the apprentice's soft blue eyes, which were glowing with contempt, and something else. Her fur prickled along her spine uncomfortably. She knew that she liked and respected Jaypaw much more than she had when he was a kit who went foxhunting. She had even shared her nest with the prickly gray ThunderClanner, and felt his pelt against her every night after training.

"No cat believes I can do it," Hazelpaw's ears swiveled towards the desolate mew coming from Jaypaw. Her green eyes widened with surprise as she saw the young gray apprentice turn from her, his light-striped tail drooping in the dust and his head hung low. The gray-and-white queen slowly padded up to him, and pressed her pelt soothingly to his side. To her delight, he did not object, but he pushed his muzzle against hers, his voice even quieter as he added, "Perhaps they're all right. Maybe I should just spend my days chasing after sick cats with herbs."

"I think you can be a warrior," Hazelpaw told him truthfully. She felt Jaypaw stiffen in surprise, but she continued, "I think you can do anything you want to, Jaypaw. But you must look inside your heart, and decide what is best for the Clan." Jaypaw bristled furiously, his blue eyes flashing with anger and his tail-tip twitching in contempt.

"You think it's best for the Clan not to have a blind warrior, don't you?" He spat angrily, and Hazelpaw was shocked that he could get angry so quickly, like a porcupine. "Just like they all do!"

"No, Jaypaw, that's not what I meant!" His words stung her heart like poisonous thorns, and she brushed her gray-and-white tail along his flanks to soothe him. She meowed gently, "What I meant was, you should listen to your heart. Your heart will tell you the right thing to do." To her relief, Jaypaw did not grow angry, but his hackles fell and he visibly relaxed, his tail swishing peacefully. She wished that the rest of ThunderClan could see this side of him; a caring apprentice who just wanted to serve his Clan, rather than a prickly, stubborn young cat who caused trouble.

"Hazelpaw?" The smoky-gray tom meowed quietly, shuffling his paws awkwardly. Embarrassed, he meowed, "When you listen to your heart, what do you hear?"

It was such a simple question, but Hazelpaw was not prepared for the tide of emotions that washed over her heart, threatening to take her under and drown her. Hazelpaw turned her head to face him. He was so close to her that she could feel his warm breath on her whiskers, and she could smell his sweet scent. He was blind. But whenever Jaypaw looked at her with those deep, dark blue eyes, deeper than the lake itself, she knew he was staring into the depths of her soul. And she felt the song of her heart, much like the song of a raven, singing louder and beating faster whenever Jaypaw was around, whenever he rubbed her fur the wrong way, whenever he stared into her with his sightless eyes.

_I love you, Jaypaw. I love you so much that it scares me, Jaypaw. I can't live without you, Jaypaw. Whenever you're near me, Jaypaw, my heart feels so full it's going to burst._ The gray and white she-cat felt her heart hammering as he gazed at her with his blue eyes. She knew he couldn't see the look that she was giving him, a look of such pure love through green eyes. And for once, she was glad that he couldn't see her, because he would see her gray-and-white fur prickling along her spine, and he would see the love in her eyes. She was afraid that if he could see, he would reject that love. So Hazelpaw did not answer, only pressed her gray-splotched side to his, hoping she could feel that she did love him, and that her heart would always beat one name...Jaypaw.

* * *

**A/N: Man, I'm writing like a beast today. R&R, please!**


End file.
